Mrs Macquarie's Gum 2021

This painting features one of my favourite trees which I refer to as Mrs Macquarie's Gum. She can be found at my favourite picnic spot in Sydney's Royal Botanical Gardens. Her twisted serpent like trunk sits low to the ground and my small children are able to climb her branches and get up close and personal with the resident Kookaburras or bumble bees feeding on the gum blossoms, depending on the season.

My art practice is centred around drawing. I sketch Plein air in watercolour and inks, then either complete or recreate the works back in the studio in different mediums as is the case with this large work in oils.

My intention is to capture the raw energy and spirit of the initial sketches outdoors. Like my drawings, my paintings are created predominantly using expressive lines and gestural marks. I like working with Chinese calligraphy brushes to capture movement and create flow within the lines. I am influenced by the Japanese Aesthetic, in particular the patterns found on decorative arts and textiles, as well as traditional Ukiyo-e (floating world) nature scenes.

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I’ve been making art for most of my life, though the path here hasn’t been completely straightforward. What was meant to be a one-year trip from the UK to Sydney in 1994 somehow turned into a permanent move, and Australia has felt like home ever since.
A lot of my work begins outdoors; walking, noticing plants growing through fences, strange colour combinations in nature, or bringing home flowers and cuttings to paint in the studio. Painting has always been a way for me to slow down and pay attention. It’s where I feel most myself.
Before returning to painting full-time in 2015, I worked across surface pattern design, printmaking and graphic design, and those influences still shape the way I paint today; through colour, rhythm, line and composition. I’m also deeply inspired by the simplicity and spontaneity of Chinese and Japanese ink painting, calligraphy and woodblock prints, though my work has gradually evolved into something much looser and more contemporary over time.
Since returning to full-time practice, my work has been exhibited in solo and group shows across Australia and selected as a finalist in prizes including the Calleen Art Award, Lethbridge Prize, Bluethumb Art Prize and the National Contemporary Watercolour Prize. My paintings and prints have also been licensed onto homewares and collected internationally.
I still feel genuinely grateful that I get to spend my days painting, and I hope that sense of joy, calm and curiosity finds its way into the work itself.